Fairtrade plea for Elgin

THE campaign to have Elgin declared a Fairtrade town will gather momentum when a Nicaraguan coffee farmer explains how it helped her life.

Fatima Ismael will tell her story to an Elgin audience.

Fatima Ismael has worked for an organisation comprising small-holder male and female coffee farmers since 1999.

A literacy campaign in her homeland in the 1980s gave her the chance to build a career through professional studies which led her into a profession that was 97% male at that time.

Fatima will be the special guest of the Elgin Fairtrade Group at Elgin Youth Cafe on Thursday, February 27, at 7pm.

Admission is free and Fairtrade tea and coffee will be served on the night.

This is just one of a number of events being promoted by the group locally as part of national Fairtrade Fortnight.

Starting this weekend, the group will have a stall at the Elgin Farmers’ Market on Saturday February 15.

During the fortnight a quiz will be running in local shops and cafes, with clue sheets on sale from WH Smith and the farmers’ market stall.

A coffee morning is also planned for Wednesday, March 5, when Elgin Academy pupils will be serving tea, coffee and homebakes made by themselves using Fairtrade products to councillors at the children and young people’s committee.